Electric heater



J. M. CURLESS.

ELECTRIC HEATER-,

APPLiCATlON FILED JU'L-Y 28,1917.

1,328,723 Patented Jan. 20, 1920.

2 SHEETSISHEET 1.

Zia/away.-

J. M. CURLESS.

ELECTRIC HEATEI. APPLICATION FILED JULY 28.1917.

1,328,723 I Patented Jan. 20, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

II I I IIIILLI I I I I I I I\LLI UNITED; STATES PATENT oF IcE.

' JAMES CURLESS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO BENJAMIN ELECTRIC MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

ELECTRIC HEATER.

of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electric Heaters, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to means for and.

method of treating insulating compounds.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved means and method by which the substance can be so treated that it will not give off obnoxious fumes but will still have a suflicient degree of fluidity to enable it to be readily applied. A further object of my invention is to provide an ap paratus for heating the insulating substance which will be simpleinconstruction and easy to operate. Further objects of my invention will appear from the detailed description to follow and from the appended claims. Y

In the drawings, in which I have shown one embodiment of my invention Figure-1 is a vertical axial section of a heater embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of an insulating cage.

Referring now' to the drawings in de tail, the heater shown comprises a cylindrical tubular member 10 which may be of metal, a heating coil 11 surrounding the tubular member 10, an insulating cage 12 located between the tubular member 10 and the heating coil 11, a funnel-shaped member 13 above the tubular member 10, a valve mechanism 14 below the tubular member 10 for controlling the flow therefrom, a heat-insulating shield or sleeve 15 surrounding the heating coil, and a bracket 16 for supporting the heater. v w

The heating coil 11 comprises a coil of wire wound spirally about the cage 12, which insulates the coil 11 from the tubular member 10. The cage 12 comprises two annular end-plates 17 which may be of metal,

Specification of Letters Patent.

a plurality of rods 18 extending between the end-plates 17 and riveted thereto, and a plurality of beads 19 of insulating material strung on the rods 18.

The funnel-shaped member 13 -may be of sheet-metal having an opening in its lower end through which the tubular member 10 extends. The funnel-shaped member 13 may be secured to the tubular member 10 and to the support 16 by means of a pair of nuts 20 threaded onto the end of the tubular member, between which nuts the flange portion 21 of the funnel-shaped member 13 and the apertured portion 22 of the support 16 are clamped. The cage 12 is held in place with respect to the tubular member 10 between the lower one of the nuts 20 and the upper edge or shoulder 23 of the valve mechanism 14, which is threaded on to the lower end of the tubular member 10, as shown in Fig. 4.

The valve mechanism 14 comprises a valve casing 24 which is threaded on to the lower end of the tubular member 10, a rotatable valve member 25, and a manually-operable lever 26 secured to' the rotatable valve member 25 for operating it. The rotatable valve member 25 is provided with a transversepassage 27 which is movable into and out the valve casing 24. The valve member 25 is held in position with respect to the casing 24 by means of a washer 30 and screw 31, which screw is threaded into the end of the valve member 25.

For returning the valve member 25 after it has been manually operated by means of the lever 26, a spring 32 is provided having a coil portion surrounding the rotatable member 25 and having one end secured to the rotatable member 25 and the other end 33 engaging a notch 34 in the lower end of the shield 15 for holding the end 33 in place. To enable the rotary valve member 25 to come to rest in the proper position when it is returned by means of thespring. 32, a stop .35 is secured to the lever 26 in .position to lower edge of the shield 15 is such that when the stop 35 engages the lower edge of the shield the passage 27 will be out of registration with the passages 28 and 29, but

suchthat a slight downward movement of Patented Jan. 20, 1920. Application filed July 28, 1917. Serial No. 183,286. I

i the lever 26 will cause the passage 27 to and a horizontal'portion secured to the support 16 by means of the bolts 38. As an additional supporting means for the shield 15, a semicircular strap 39 is riveted to the shield as indicated at 40, the strap 39 being provided with a bent-portion 41 which embraces the vertical portion of the strap 36, the vertical portion of the strap 36 being held between the bent portion 41 and the shield 15.

As shown in Fig. 5, the upper and lower ends 42 and 43,- respectively, of the heating coil 11 are secured to suitable binding-terminals'44 and 45, respectively, which are supported on-the insulating posts 46 and 47, respectively, secured to the upper and lower plates 17 respectively. The feedwires 48 and 49 are also electrically connected to the binding-terminals 44 and 45, respectively, and thus'to the heating coil 11. The posts 46 and 47 comprise the rods 50 secured tothe plates 17, and the insulatingbeads 51 strungon the rods 50. The binding-terminals 44 and 45 may be formed of strips bent around the posts 46 and 47 and bent toform loops for the reception of the ends 42 and 43 of the heating coil and the ends of the feed-wires 48 and 49.

The use and operation of the heater is as follows: The material to be melted and used-which may be an insulating compound in the form of lumps-is placed in the funnel-shaped. member 13 and tubular member 10. A suitable current is passed through the heating coil to cause the material in the tubular portion 10 and funnel- .shaped portion 13 to be melted, the heat furnished being just suflicient to keep the material at, the proper temperature and not suflicient to cause it to give ofl' obnoxious fumes.

One use .to'which the device may beput is to cove up the live parts of an electrical devlce by allowing the melted insulating compound to escape through the passage '29 onto the'live parts and then allow the insulating' compound to harden. These live parts in electrical devices are usually located in recesses, so that the melted insulating compound flows out into these recesses, filling them and covering up the live'parts. using-the heater-for this purpose, the

electrical device having the live parts which are to be covered up is placed in position beneath the discharge opening 29 and the lever 26 is depressed to causethe opening 27 to register with the openings 28 and. 29 to permit some of the melted insulating compound to flow out through the discharge passage 29 into the recess in the electrical device in which. the live part is located. When the recess is full or the live part sufficiently covered, thelever 26 is released and the spring 32 returns the valve member 25 to a position in which the passage 27 is out of registration with the passages 28 and 29, the stop 35 limiting this return movement by coming in contact with the lower edge ofthe shield 15. The insulating shield 15 prevents the heat from the coil 11 from being dissipated. A coil 52 of suitable insutained at a-temperature which will give it a greater degree of fluidity than the material in the funnel-shaped member 13, whichenables it to be readily drawn ofl through the passage 29 and which will cause it to readily flow into' the recesses in the electrical devices to which the insulating compound is applied.

The material used may be an insulating compound known to the trades as X-Brown cement, sold by the Insulatine Company,

New York city. When this substance is used the material in the funnel-shaped member 13 is heated to a temperature of about 200 degrees Fahrenheit and the material in the tubular member 10 is heated to a temperature of about 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

. What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States is 1. A heating device comprising a receptacle for the material to be heated having a reduced lower portion, a heating coil surrounding the reduced lower portion, a

hot air chamber surrounding thecoil and extending upwardly a substantial distance above the upper end of said heating coil aroundthe portion of the receptacle above the reduced lower portion, and means-for withdrawing the heated material from the reduced lower portion.

2-. A heating device comprising a receptacle, for the material to be heated having an enlarged upper portion, an intermediate reduced portion, and a still further reduced lower portion, a heating coil surrounding the lower reduced portion, a hot air chamber surrounding said coil and. extending up-.

wardly, a substantial distan'above the upi per end of said coil, and around said intermedlate reduced portion, the air in which is heated by said coil, and means fonwithdrawing the heated material from the reduced lower portion.

3. A heating device oomprisin a container for the material to be heate a heating coil surrounding said container including a plurality of parallel spaced insulating 7 members arranged around said container, a

spiral heating coil wound around said insulatlng members, and a spiral insulating member wound around said members between the convolutions of the heating coil.

4;. A heating device comprising a con-.

lower portion, a plurality of spaced parallel posts extendingalongside said reduced lower portion, a heating 1 coil wound spirally around said posts, and an outer casing surscribed my name.

rounding said reduced lower portion and also surrounding said coil and posts and extending upwardly around said intermediate reduced portion. v

5. A heating device comprising a container for the material to be heated having an enlarged upper portion, a reduced intermediate portion, and a still'further reduced lower portion, a plurality of spaced parallel posts extending alongside said reduced lower portion, a heating coil wound spirally around said posts, an outer casing surrounding said lower reducedportion and also surrounding said coil and posts and extending upwardly around said intermediate reduced portion, and a valve controlling the flow from the'lowerreduced portion.

'In witness whereof, I have hereunto sub- JAMES M. CURLESS. 

